Cauliflower Tandoori

Want a badaboom presentation for your next dinner party? The Cauliflower Tandoori is a great way to go, plus it’s healthy, easy and mildly spicy, who could resist?

I’m a big fan of Indian food, although the mild type of Indian. My husband is a big fan of the Vandaloo sauce which is so crazy spicy, I wish I could forget the pain and taste the actual sauce but it’s just impossible for me. Also I’ve experienced already the effect of too spicy food with a sip of wine and let say my body didn’t agree… so in other words; mild to medium spicy Indian are my favorites. Tandoori marinade is one of the softest Indian sauces and super tasty, it’s almost too mild that I always add a touch of Garam Masala (spicy mix of spices) to add a little spark to my tandoori.

Tandoori marinade/paste

I know… I know… Tandoori actually means the Tandoor oven they cook with in India, it’s not an actual sauce… But in our globalized world and also to adjust the spice level of India to the fragile tongues from the westerners, the “tandoori” marinade is the solution. Tandoori marinade comes in a paste, sold around the world, and it’s a great way to experiment with Indian food at home. Plus it gives a nice red color to food. You could also make it yourself with a bunch of spices but I like it best in its paste form. You’ll have to mix the paste to a natural yogurt; I like it extra tasty and red so I always use the same quantity of yogurt as tandoori paste. If you happen to have some, add a tad of garam masala spice to the marinade it gives it an extra spicy touch.

For this recipe we won’t need to marinade the cauliflower, it’s the same mix as for marinating meat although we’ll just cover the whole cauliflower with it and directly in the oven. So simple, and healthy! You might serve it as a side dish or even as a main meal like I did by adding rice, baby spinach leaves and pineapple pieces. I love to pair tandoori to a juicy sweet pineapple, it’s a divine combination!

So let’s make this vegetarian bad ass meal!

Cauliflower Tandoori

Makes 3-6 mains/sides | Preparation: 50 minutes | Difficulty: easier than easy

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower
• 150g of tandoori paste
• 150g of natural yogurt
• 1 tsp garam masala *optional

Sides (main meal)

• baby spinach
• pineapple cubes
• white rice

Directions

1. Simply mix the yogurt, tandoori paste and garam masala
2. Cut the stem of the cauliflower, clean and dry it up
3. Cover the cauliflower with the tandoori sauce (make those hands dirty!)
4. Cook in the oven lower level with a sheet of aluminium paper on top at 180°C (350F) for 45-50 minutes depending on the size
5. During that time prepare the rice and the other ingredients
6. Serve

Enjoy!